Mark Pearson, the programme director of TradeMark Southern Africa, said that if all programmes under the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) are implemented, cross-border trading costs can be greatly reduced.

The TFTA is a grouping of the 27 countries that are members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Some of the tripartite strategies include the design and implementation of infrastructure projects along corridors in the region, and the design and implementation of the TFTA as well as a draft agreement for the tripartite countries.

The agreement is expected to offer better trading preferences than existing regional economic communities and level trading arrangements. It is being negotiated in two phases over a 36-month period, which started in June 2011.

Phases 1 and 2 will consist of covering tariff liberalisation, rules of origin, customs procedures and simplification of customs documentation, trade-in services, competition policy, intellectual property rights, and trade development and competitiveness, to name a few.

“If all of these programmes are to be implemented, it should reduce the costs of cross-border trade, leading to higher economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation,” said Pearson.